Lucas Torreira has revealed how former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez helped convince him to join Arsenal this summer.

Torreira joined the Gunners earlier in the summer in a £24 million transfer from Sampdoria following an impressive season in Serie A.

The 22-year-old midfielder also enjoyed an excellent World Cup campaign with Uruguay, where he played alongside Suarez as Óscar Tabárez’s side reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual champions France.

And Torreira has now revealed Suarez’s words in the Uruguay camp during the summer are what helped convince him to make the move to North London.

“Luis Suarez was very helpful,” he said of the Barcelona hitman, “He spoke to Raul [Sanllehi], who brought many players to Barcelona. I was really grateful to Luis and only a short time ago I sent him a message of thanks.

“He told me how wonderful the Premier League is, describing it as the best, and he said what a great time he had at Liverpool. When we were together for internationals he would often talk about the Premier League.

“I’m also good friends with Gaston Ramirez and he spoke about the Premier League, the stadiums and the coaching. He said that everything would be great, that it would be a good move for me and now I’m seeing everything he talked about with my own eyes.

“I’m incredibly proud [to be here]. It feels such a privilege. I find it amazing that all my life I’ve dreamt of playing in the Premier league and now I’m part of the Arsenal team, wearing this iconic shirt with all its history.”